Sundance: Kinology Heads to Berlin With ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’

Cinetic Media handling domestic rights

Paris-based Kinology will be heading to the Berlin Festival in two weeks time with Iranian vampire Western “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” the debut feature of U.S.-based Ana Lily Amirpour and one of the hits at this year’s Sundance Festival.

John Sloss’ Cinetic Media is handling North American rights on “Girl,” which world premiered in Sundance’s Next section.

Praised by reviewers for its glistening black-and-white cinematography, singular setting, mix of film noir and Western genres, and singular feminist twist, “Girl” is set in the Iranian ghost town of Bad City, a bastion of prostitutes, junkies, pimps, depravity and hopelessness.

“Girl” tells the love story between a hijab-clad blood-sucking undead (Sheila Vand) who falls for a young punk with a James Dean look who drives a vintage sports car (Arash Marandi). Written by Amirpour, “Girl” was shot in Farsi.

Kinology founder Gregoire Melin said: “I haven’t experienced a cinematic gust of wind like this since the first films of Jim Jarmusch and Leos Carax. Ana Lily is most definitely the next big thing to watch.”

“I am beyond thrilled to have Kinology take our film out to the world. They truly love and know arthouse cinema and aren’t afraid to go to those weird and beautiful places,” said Amirpour.

Melin and Ram Murali brokered the deal for Kinology with John Sloss and Steven Farneth of Cinetic Media and attorney Marios Rush on behalf of the filmmakers.

“Girl” has genuine edge but with a cinematic overlay,” Sloss told Variety.

“We picked a company that had a sensibility and a reputation that matched the film,” he added.

Sloss said it was “early days” for Cinetic Media to decide whether it would distribute itself in the U.S. – Cinetic owns boutique distribution label Producers Distribution Agency (PDA) – or sell to a third-party U.S. distributor.